FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 2, 2008

CONTACT:
ACLU of Florida Media Office, (786) 363-2737 or media@aclufl.org

MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today sent a letter to Governor Charlie Crist urging him to convene a taskforce to address the ongoing safety threat and housing crisis stemming from the patchwork of city and county residence restrictions for persons convicted of sexual offenses. The letter points out that the laws restricting where released sex offenders can live have created new problems for public safety.

The letter is co-signed by sexual assault and domestic violence prevention organizations – including the Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Council of Greater Miami, the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, and the Florida Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers.

State law makes it unlawful for persons convicted of certain sexual offenses to reside within 1,000 feet of any school, day care center, park or playground. Local ordinances in Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami, and the City of Miami Beach impose more stringent restrictions of 2,500 feet. The restrictions are so onerous that some individuals have resorted to living under bridges, including a bridge on the Julia Tuttle Causeway, while others have absconded.

"These ordinances were passed by local governments with the goal of keeping communities safer, but they have had the opposite effect,” said Carlene Sawyer, President of the ACLU’s Greater Miami Chapter. “Experience now shows that these local laws have created a class of homeless persons in an unstable and high-risk environment with little possibility of compliance or establishment of lawful lifestyles. It is time to do something different, and intervention by the Governor is essential before the problem worsens.”

The letter charges that the sex offender residency restrictions are ineffective at protecting communities and in fact have the potential to make our communities less safe, while simultaneously impeding the ability of released offenders to effectively re-integrate into society and rehabilitate their lives.

Download the full letter in PDF format at: http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/ResidenceRestrictions060208.pdf

Download the Miami Herald Article in PDF format at: http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/Herald042008.pdf

Download an excerpt from the NAESV position at: http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/NAESVPosition.pdf

Download the Zandenbergen and Hart study at: http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/ZandbergenandHart2006.pdf

About the ACLU of Florida
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our Web site at: www.aclufl.org.

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2008 Press Releases